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 Sydney's unvaccinated warned of isolation when lockdown ends
Sydney residents who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 risk being
barred from various social activities even when they are freed from
stay-at-home orders in December, New South Wales state Premier
Gladys Berejiklian warned on Tuesday.
The two-tier system, designed to encourage more people to get
vaccinated, has been criticised for both penalising vulnerable
groups who have not had access to inoculations and for falling short
of providing a real incentive for the vaccine hesitant.
New York hospitals fire, suspend staff who refuse vaccine
New York hospitals on Monday began firing or suspending healthcare
workers for defying a state order to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and
resulting staff shortages prompted some hospitals to postpone
elective surgeries or curtail services.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference the city's
hospitals were not yet seeing a major impact from the mandate,
adding he worried about other areas of the state where vaccination
rates are lower.
Japan to end COVID-19 state of emergency this month
Japan will lift a coronavirus state of emergency in all regions on
Thursday as the number of new cases falls and the strain on the
medical system eases, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said. The
plan, approved by a government advisory panel, takes Japan as a
whole out of an emergency state for the first time in nearly six
months.
But Nishimura said some limitations on eateries and large-scale
events would remain in place for about a month to prevent a
resurgence in cases. Restaurants in areas under emergency curbs are
now required to close by 8 p.m. and not serve alcohol.
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 Virus-infected cells protected
from immune system by protein
A protein called CD47 that helps damaged cells
avoid destruction by the immune system may be
contributing to severe cases of COVID-19,
researchers believe. Drugs in development
targeting CD47 may result in improved COVID-19
therapies, they suggested in a report published
in Current Issues in Molecular Biology.
In lab experiments, the researchers found that
CD47 - which in effect tells the immune system,
"Do not eat me!" - is present in increased
amounts on the surfaces of cells infected with
the coronavirus. SARS-CoV-2 infection also
increases levels of another protein, SIRPalpha,
that partners with CD47 to trick the immune
system into ignoring the sick cells.
India reports smallest rise in COVID-19 deaths
since mid-March
India reported 179 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday,
the lowest daily toll since the middle of March,
taking the total to 447,373.
Infections rose by 18,795, the smallest increase
since early March, lifting the total to about
33.7 million, health ministry data showed.
(Open https://tmsnrt.rs/2FkV6wq in a web browser
to see Reuters global coronavirus tracker)
(Compiled by Karishma Singh)
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